Family Shabbat Dinner at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center (2/25)

Shabbat Shalom: Some rockin' Jewish kids songs were followed by the pre-dinner Shabbat blessing

Foolishly paying strict attention to the start time of this event, my husband Brett and I arrived promptly at 6pm to a completely deserted community center.  Approximately 45 minutes later the pre-dinner kids tunes began and a little after 7 the buffet line began.  It wasn't until we sat down that we were informed that Jews (though maybe it's mainly Portland Jews?) are not known for promptness.  Good to know for the next event.

We were also probably the only people there without kids, which we could have guessed by the title of the event, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get beyond the Christian-sponsored organizations that seem to dominate the community dinner world.  The pre-dinner kids music wound up being a blast to hear and watch.  The all-kosher meal featured nicely roasted parsnips, carrots and turnips, delicious mashed potatoes, roasted chicken, salad, and an outstanding dairy-free peach cobbler.  I now know where to send my lactose-intolerant friends for some good eating. 

The long tables were jam packed - some good community conversation was guaranteed.  After picking a thoroughly random location at the middle of one of the tables, it turned out we were sitting next to one of our best friend's carpool buddy.  We outed ourselves as non-Jews early on, which led to some great explanations of Jewish customs and holidays.  It was a very fun and educational evening! 

The dinner hall is open and modern - a big improvement on the school basements we've been frequenting.  The tickets were a little pricey, though the food was quite good and if we had brought kids they would have gotten their money's worth with the magic act and the bouncy house in the gym.  Overall a great dinner and cultural exchange - I recommend the experience!

Farm To Fork's Open That Bottle Night (2/26)

With several bottles of wine from the depths of our basement in tow, five of us piled into the car of our very kind-hearted, pregnant designated driver for the trip out to Farm to Fork in Dundee.  The restaurant is located in the Red Hills Inn, a Pottery Barn-inspired boutique hotel at the far end of downtown Dundee. 

For the dinner the restaurant created two long tables for a family style meal - excellent idea.  We plunked ourselves down at the first table, and for some reason all the other guests sat at the second table and the folks who were supposed to fill out the rest of the seats at our table never arrived.  Sigh.  I'll remember to wear deoderant next time...

But all community was not lost!  After a thoroughly enjoyable meal, a kind man from the other table came over to offer a glass of one of the wines they were drinking, and we reciprocated the offer.  Being a bit of a wine novice I had been too self conscious about our wines to make the first move.  As always, a completely silly notion - it's not like I brought a bottle of Two-Buck-Chuck.  Our neighboring table appreciated our wines and we theirs.  The exchange was exactly the ice breaker we needed to join their conversation and share great wines and great stories for the rest of the evening.  I pray that I may remember this lesson in community building: be brave enough to make the first move.  It's often exactly what people are waiting for.

The meal was quite a step up from our other community meals.  The chef introduced himself and spent several minutes describing the many courses that were to emerge from the kitchen.  According to the omnivores I came with, the non-goat-cheese-eating vegetarians (that's me) wound up with the tastiest dishes.  I have trouble imagining that anything could beat the flavor of the truffle-spiked rissoto that was my main dish.  The most decadant course was a lavender ice cream with fresh honeycomb - W O W. 

Thanks to our brave friends at the other table, we wound up having an excellent evening of outstanding food capped off with very nice conversation and a lesson in community building for the community dinner club.